Collection on Neurobiology of Language
Share This Topical Collection
Editor
Prof. Dr. Heather Bortfeld
Prof. Dr. Heather Bortfeld
E-Mail
Website
Collection Editor
Psychological Sciences, University of California-Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA 95343, USA
Interests: infant speech perception; language learning; language development; audiovisual speech perception; audiovisual integration; near-infrared spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Topical Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Neurobiology of Language collection features research that takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of brain and language. We publish papers that integrate cognitively oriented theoretical accounts of language with its neurobiological foundations. Topics of interest include the biological foundations of perceptual, cognitive, motor, and linguistic processes used to produce and understand language in children and adults, healthy individuals, and those with brain disorders. Work on the evolutionary basis of the mechanisms that support language are also welcome, including research that incorporates animal models or neural computational approaches. We encourage submissions that draw on a range of methods (e.g., behavioral paradigms, functional and structural neuroanatomy, genetics, extracranial and intracranial brain stimulation and recording, and brain–computer interfaces).
Prof. Dr. Heather Bortfeld
Collection Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript.
The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs).
Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's
English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Published Papers (5 papers)
Open AccessArticle
Examining the Neural Markers of Speech Rhythm in Silent Reading Using Mass Univariate Statistics of EEG Single Trials
by
Stephanie J. Powell, Srishti Nayak and Cyrille L. Magne
Viewed by 588
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The Implicit Prosody Hypothesis (IPH) posits that individuals generate internal prosodic representations during silent reading, mirroring those produced in spoken language. While converging behavioral evidence supports the IPH, the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms remain largely unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the neurophysiological markers
[...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The Implicit Prosody Hypothesis (IPH) posits that individuals generate internal prosodic representations during silent reading, mirroring those produced in spoken language. While converging behavioral evidence supports the IPH, the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms remain largely unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the neurophysiological markers of sensitivity to speech rhythm cues during silent word reading. Methods: EEGs were recorded while participants silently read four-word sequences, each composed of either trochaic words (stressed on the first syllable) or iambic words (stressed on the second syllable). Each sequence was followed by a target word that was either metrically congruent or incongruent with the preceding rhythmic pattern. To investigate the effects of metrical expectancy and lexical stress type, we examined single-trial event-related potentials (ERPs) and time–frequency representations (TFRs) time-locked to target words. Results: The results showed significant differences based on the stress pattern expectancy and type. Specifically, words that carried unexpected stress elicited larger ERP negativities between 240 and 628 ms after the word onset. Furthermore, different frequency bands were sensitive to distinct aspects of the rhythmic structure in language. Alpha activity tracked the rhythmic expectations, and theta and beta activities were sensitive to both the expected rhythms and specific locations of the stressed syllables. Conclusions: The findings clarify neurocognitive mechanisms of phonological and lexical mental representations during silent reading using a conservative data-driven approach. Similarity with neural response patterns previously reported for spoken language contexts suggests shared neural networks for implicit and explicit speech rhythm processing, further supporting the IPH and emphasizing the centrality of prosody in reading.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessArticle
Atypical Brain Connectivity During Pragmatic and Semantic Language Processing in Children with Autism
by
Amparo V. Márquez-García, Vasily A. Vakorin, Nataliia Kozhemiako, Grace Iarocci, Sylvain Moreno and Sam M. Doesburg
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 623
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face challenges in social communication due to difficulties in considering context, processing information, and interpreting social cues. This study aims to explore the neural processes related to pragmatic language communication in children with ASD and address
[...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face challenges in social communication due to difficulties in considering context, processing information, and interpreting social cues. This study aims to explore the neural processes related to pragmatic language communication in children with ASD and address the research question of how functional brain connectivity operates during complex pragmatic language tasks. Methods: We examined differences in brain functional connectivity between children with ASD and typically developing peers while they engaged in video recordings of spoken language tasks. We focused on two types of speech acts: semantic and pragmatic. Results: Our results showed differences between groups during the pragmatic and semantic language processing, indicating more idiosyncratic connectivity in children with ASD in the Left Somatomotor and Left Limbic networks, suggesting that these networks play a role in task-dependent functional connectivity. Additionally, these functional differences were mainly localized to the left hemisphere.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessReview
The Subjunctive as a Model of Grammatical Complexity: An Integrative Review of Issues Based on Combined Evidence from Mental Chronometry and Neurosciences
by
Daniel Grégoire Grevisse, Marzena Watorek and Frédéric Isel
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1918
Abstract
The acquisition of a second language requires the construction or reconstruction of linguistic knowledge about the new language system. Learners of a second language have to acquire the linguistic structures of the second language by constructing or reassessing their own knowledge in the
[...] Read more.
The acquisition of a second language requires the construction or reconstruction of linguistic knowledge about the new language system. Learners of a second language have to acquire the linguistic structures of the second language by constructing or reassessing their own knowledge in the light of the new one. Some of these new linguistic structures may be more or less complex to process and/or difficult to acquire. In this review, we focus on an example of linguistic complexity in French, namely, the subjunctive. Through a discussion of some selected studies on the second language acquisition of the French subjunctive, our purpose is to argue that these findings, considered from a psycholinguistic perspective, could be fruitful for further research employing neuroscience techniques, such as electroencephalography or neuroimaging in order to better understand the neurocognitive processing of this complex structure both in French native speakers and in learners of French. Hence, we aim to contribute to exploring the question of linguistic transfer in the field of second language acquisition, the typological distance/relation between L1–L2, the syntactic acquisition of complex structures in adult second language learners, and the potential contributions of electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging to the processing of the subjunctive, selected as an example of linguistic complexity that has not yet received much attention.
Full article
Open AccessArticle
Exploring Affective Priming Effect of Emotion-Label Words and Emotion-Laden Words: An Event-Related Potential Study
by
Chenggang Wu, Juan Zhang and Zhen Yuan
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4307
Abstract
In order to explore the affective priming effect of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words, the current study used unmasked (Experiment 1) and masked (Experiment 2) priming paradigm by including emotion-label words (e.g., sadness, anger) and emotion-laden words (e.g., death, gift) as primes and
[...] Read more.
In order to explore the affective priming effect of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words, the current study used unmasked (Experiment 1) and masked (Experiment 2) priming paradigm by including emotion-label words (e.g., sadness, anger) and emotion-laden words (e.g., death, gift) as primes and examined how the two kinds of words acted upon the processing of the target words (all emotion-laden words). Participants were instructed to decide the valence of target words, and their electroencephalogram was recorded at the same time. The behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) results showed that positive words produced a priming effect whereas negative words inhibited target word processing (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, the inhibition effect of negative emotion-label words on emotion word recognition was found in both behavioral and ERP results, suggesting that modulation of emotion word type on emotion word processing could be observed even in the masked priming paradigm. The two experiments further supported the necessity of defining emotion words under an emotion word type perspective. The implications of the findings are proffered. Specifically, a clear understanding of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words can improve the effectiveness of emotional communications in clinical settings. Theoretically, the emotion word type perspective awaits further explorations and is still at its infancy.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessArticle
The Brain Differentially Prepares Inner and Overt Speech Production: Electrophysiological and Vascular Evidence
by
Franziska Stephan, Henrik Saalbach and Sonja Rossi
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5639
Abstract
Speech production not only relies on spoken (overt speech) but also on silent output (inner speech). Little is known about whether inner and overt speech are processed differently and which neural mechanisms are involved. By simultaneously applying electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy
[...] Read more.
Speech production not only relies on spoken (overt speech) but also on silent output (inner speech). Little is known about whether inner and overt speech are processed differently and which neural mechanisms are involved. By simultaneously applying electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we tried to disentangle executive control from motor and linguistic processes. A preparation phase was introduced additionally to the examination of overt and inner speech directly during naming (i.e., speech execution). Participants completed a picture-naming paradigm in which the pure preparation phase of a subsequent speech production and the actual speech execution phase could be differentiated. fNIRS results revealed a larger activation for overt rather than inner speech at bilateral prefrontal to parietal regions during the preparation and at bilateral temporal regions during the execution phase. EEG results showed a larger negativity for inner compared to overt speech between 200 and 500 ms during the preparation phase and between 300 and 500 ms during the execution phase. Findings of the preparation phase indicated that differences between inner and overt speech are not exclusively driven by specific linguistic and motor processes but also impacted by inhibitory mechanisms. Results of the execution phase suggest that inhibitory processes operate during phonological code retrieval and encoding.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
